Delay, Without More, Will Not Warrant A Stay In Administrative Proceedings

• Published date: 12 July 2022
• Law Firm: Bennett Jones LLP
• Author: Ms Katherine J. Fisher and Natasha O.Q. Laffin

Key Highlights

• The SCC has concluded that, unlike in criminal proceedings delay alone will not constitute an abuse of process warranting a stay in administrative proceedings.
• Short of a stay of proceedings, the SCC has highlighted that some form of remedy, such as a reduction in sanction or variation of an award of costs, should be afforded in cases of inordinate delay amounting to an abuse of process.
• In a strong dissent, Justice Suzanne C'té suggests that the SCC's strict approach "invites complacency in administrative proceedings."

In an eight to one split decision, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) has rendered its long-anticipated judgment regarding delay in administrative proceedings in Law Society of Saskatchewan v Abrametz[Abrametz], 2022 SCC 29. In its decision, the SCC concluded that, unlike in criminal proceedings, delay alone will not constitute an abuse of process warranting a stay in administrative proceedings.

The SCC in Abrametz was tasked with reviewing the law as previously set out by it in Blencoe v British Columbia (Human Rights Commission)[Blencoe],2000 SCC 44, and seemingly varied by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal (SKCA) in Abrametz v Law Society of...